Remembering 2013: Top 6 Books of the Year

 

This really (really) short list represents some of the outstanding novels that Africans graced the world with.

1. 1.      THIRTY SECOND WORLD by Emma van der Vliet (March 1st, 2013)

Saucy, smart, funny and moving, are some words used to describe South African, Emma van der Vliet’s second novel is set in the unreal world of the South African film industry where Alison, a top producer of commercials and Beth, an ad industry newbie, who is desperate to impress and finding it hard to resist the advances of a sleazy colleague. Things get really messy when a shoot takes their team to an isolated hell-hole of a town. Accidents happen and dark secrets are revealed, and soon both Beth and Alison are forced to face some hard truths.  

1. 2.      GHANA MUST GO by Taiye Selasi (March 5^th, 2013)

Nigerian/Ghanian/British author, Taiye Selasi’s debut novel – Ghana Must Go tells the story of Folasadé Savage (a.k.a. Fola), who leaves Lagos for Pennsylvania, where she meets her Ghanaian husband, Kweku Sai, a brilliant surgeon. Fola gives up her dream of going to law school in order to raise their four children. After losing his job, Kweku abandons them all and returns to Ghana; he succumbs suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban Accra. The news of Kweku’s death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before; bringing the five remaining Sais together for a bittersweet trip to his homeland. Electric, exhilarating, beautifully crafted with a theme that portrays the transformative power of unconditional love. 2010, Ann Godoff at Penguin Press bought Selasi's unfinished manuscript. Today, Ghana Must Go has been sold in 16 countries.  

1. 3.      THE SHINING GIRLS (15th April, 2013) by Lauren Beukes

South African novelist, short story writer, TV scriptwriter and journalist, Lauren Beukes’s third novel is about a time-travelling serial-killer, set in the great American city of Chicago, and the survivor who turns the hunt around. It’s been described as part horror, part fantasy and part thriller. 3rd, May 2013, The Shining Girls had its television rights acquired for adaptation by MRC (Media Rights Capital) and Hollywood actor – Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way.  

1. 4.      WAY BACK HOME (20th, April 2013) by Niq Mhlongo

South African journalist and novelist, Niq Mhlongo’s third novel follows Kimathi Tito, who was born in exile in Tanzania as a child of the revolution, he has steadily accumulated wealth and influence since arriving in South Africa in 1991. But even though everything appears just peachy from outside the walls of his mansion in Bassonia (Johannesburg), things are far from perfect for Comrade Kimathi. After a messy divorce, accelerated by his gambling habit and infidelities, he is in danger of losing everything. And now, to top it all, he’s seeing ghosts! Way Back Home offers an unvarnished depiction of today’s South Africa; pointing at the country’s corrupt leaders, showing the legacy of the democratic transition at risk in the so-called “Rainbow Nation”.  

1. 5.      AMERICANAH (14th May, 2013) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Internationally acclaimed author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s third novel is a about Ifemelu and Obinze, who fell in love as teenagers in secondary school; but take different paths to seek their fortunes in America and England respectively. Years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America. When Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, she and Obinze reignite their shared passion - for their homeland and for each other - they will face the toughest decisions of their lives.  Americanah mirrors the trials and shame, several Nigerians face in the Diaspora; as it simultaneously takes on the themes of identity, loss and loneliness. It was selected as one of the 10 Best Books of 2013 by the editors of the New York Times Book Review; and won the 2013 The Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize (a biennial award).  

1. 6.      WE NEED NEW NAMES by NoViolet Bulawayo (May 21st, 2013) Zimbabwean author and 2011 Caine Prize Winner, NoViolet Bulawayo’s debut novel tells the story of Darling, a 10-year-old growing up in politically unstable Zimbabwe – homes destroyed by paramilitary policemen, schools closed …, she has a chance to escape to stay with an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America's famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few.

We Need New Names was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize.           By: Olusola Agbaje

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